September 8, 2021 at 4:41 p.m.
Patriots win ACAC opener
JCHS volleyball
Patriots win ACAC opener
Coach said it wasn’t too pretty.
Nevertheless, the Patriots did something they haven’t done in nearly two full years.
Jay County High School’s volleyball team prevailed through sloppy play to pick up an Allen County Athletic Conference sweep of the Bluffton Tigers on Monday, 25-14, 25-18, 25-15.
“I just felt like everyone tonight was playing a step behind,” said JCHS coach Amy Dillon, whose team earned a conference win for the first time since Oct. 1, 2019. “Our passes weren’t going to target like they should. I just don’t feel like we were ready all the time no matter how many times I said (the Tigers) are going to tip to get out of everything.
“We still seemed a step behind going for the tips.”
The victory, which took less than an hour, moves the Patriots to 2-4 (1-0 ACAC) on the season. It snaps a three-match losing streak, and gets JCHS back in the win column ahead of another conference match Thursday at Woodlan.
Jay County’s duo of Madison Dirksen and Kylie Klopfenstein were too much to handle in the early going of the match, combining for seven kills in guiding the Patriots to a 15-5 lead over Bluffton (2-8, 0-1 ACAC).
At the same time, however, Jay County was gifting the opponent points, as eight of the 14 points Bluffton got in the opener were from Patriot errors. They struggled at times to set the attackers accurately which resulted in unsuccessful swings.
In set two, a bit of inexperience on the court kept the set close through the first 25 points, with the Tigers taking a 13-12 advantage.
Dillon had played sophomores Bella Denton and Maggie Dillon — her daughter — to get the youngsters meaningful time on the court.
Nearly half (six) of the Tigers’ points before Jay County took its timeout down 13-12 were from Patriot mishaps.
“I did try to get some sophomores on the court tonight so I know the subbing was a little different,” said Dillon, noting he had hoped her team wasn’t going to be overconfident heading into the match. “But I told them, ‘You’ve got to be able to step out there and play with whoever I put on the court. You never know what’s going to happen; you never know if someone is going to be ill, if someone is going to be injured.’
“Those are the ones we’re going to be looking at because those are the kids that are going to be our varsity court next year.”
After the timeout, Jay County rattled off five consecutive points, with Madison Dirksen — she led all players with 11 kills — at the service line. Bluffton nabbed four of the next five points to get back within one, 18-17, before a Tiger service error and consecutive Hannah Muhlenkamp aces put the set back in Jay County’s favor.
But poor play continued to plague the Patriots in set three.
“I really didn’t think we played that well at the net tonight,” Dillon said. The Patriots committed 12 attack errors. “I felt like we weren’t getting our hands on blocks like we normally do.
“Our blocking has been so much better this year. I didn’t feel like we were really doing that tonight, and then I just don’t think our defense was ready to dig those gaps.”
Madison Brunswick and Klopfenstein each had a half dozen kills in support of Dirksen. Lauren Brewster chipped in five kills.
Izzy Rodgers totaled half of the team’s 10 blocks while also tallying 22 assists. Brenna Haines led the way with 14 digs, while Grace Brewster and Rodgers had eight digs apiece.
After going 0-6 during the regular season against ACAC foes in 2020, Dillon is optimistic the 1-0 start this year will springboard into more notches in the win column.
“Hopefully it gives them a little bit of confidence because I think they have a good chance in the conference, at least to compete,” she said. “I know Thursday night is going to be tougher for us, probably. So hopefully we come out a little more ready to play.”
“Thursday nights have not been good for us this season. I don’t know why. But hopefully this Thursday is a little different.”
Junior varsity
The Patriots dominated the Tigers to the tune of a 25-7, 25-14 victory.
Maggie Dillon posted team highs in aces with nine, and shared team lead of three kills with Laila Waddell. Meredith Dirksen chipped in seven aces and a block, and Bella Denton contributed two kills.
Nevertheless, the Patriots did something they haven’t done in nearly two full years.
Jay County High School’s volleyball team prevailed through sloppy play to pick up an Allen County Athletic Conference sweep of the Bluffton Tigers on Monday, 25-14, 25-18, 25-15.
“I just felt like everyone tonight was playing a step behind,” said JCHS coach Amy Dillon, whose team earned a conference win for the first time since Oct. 1, 2019. “Our passes weren’t going to target like they should. I just don’t feel like we were ready all the time no matter how many times I said (the Tigers) are going to tip to get out of everything.
“We still seemed a step behind going for the tips.”
The victory, which took less than an hour, moves the Patriots to 2-4 (1-0 ACAC) on the season. It snaps a three-match losing streak, and gets JCHS back in the win column ahead of another conference match Thursday at Woodlan.
Jay County’s duo of Madison Dirksen and Kylie Klopfenstein were too much to handle in the early going of the match, combining for seven kills in guiding the Patriots to a 15-5 lead over Bluffton (2-8, 0-1 ACAC).
At the same time, however, Jay County was gifting the opponent points, as eight of the 14 points Bluffton got in the opener were from Patriot errors. They struggled at times to set the attackers accurately which resulted in unsuccessful swings.
In set two, a bit of inexperience on the court kept the set close through the first 25 points, with the Tigers taking a 13-12 advantage.
Dillon had played sophomores Bella Denton and Maggie Dillon — her daughter — to get the youngsters meaningful time on the court.
Nearly half (six) of the Tigers’ points before Jay County took its timeout down 13-12 were from Patriot mishaps.
“I did try to get some sophomores on the court tonight so I know the subbing was a little different,” said Dillon, noting he had hoped her team wasn’t going to be overconfident heading into the match. “But I told them, ‘You’ve got to be able to step out there and play with whoever I put on the court. You never know what’s going to happen; you never know if someone is going to be ill, if someone is going to be injured.’
“Those are the ones we’re going to be looking at because those are the kids that are going to be our varsity court next year.”
After the timeout, Jay County rattled off five consecutive points, with Madison Dirksen — she led all players with 11 kills — at the service line. Bluffton nabbed four of the next five points to get back within one, 18-17, before a Tiger service error and consecutive Hannah Muhlenkamp aces put the set back in Jay County’s favor.
But poor play continued to plague the Patriots in set three.
“I really didn’t think we played that well at the net tonight,” Dillon said. The Patriots committed 12 attack errors. “I felt like we weren’t getting our hands on blocks like we normally do.
“Our blocking has been so much better this year. I didn’t feel like we were really doing that tonight, and then I just don’t think our defense was ready to dig those gaps.”
Madison Brunswick and Klopfenstein each had a half dozen kills in support of Dirksen. Lauren Brewster chipped in five kills.
Izzy Rodgers totaled half of the team’s 10 blocks while also tallying 22 assists. Brenna Haines led the way with 14 digs, while Grace Brewster and Rodgers had eight digs apiece.
After going 0-6 during the regular season against ACAC foes in 2020, Dillon is optimistic the 1-0 start this year will springboard into more notches in the win column.
“Hopefully it gives them a little bit of confidence because I think they have a good chance in the conference, at least to compete,” she said. “I know Thursday night is going to be tougher for us, probably. So hopefully we come out a little more ready to play.”
“Thursday nights have not been good for us this season. I don’t know why. But hopefully this Thursday is a little different.”
Junior varsity
The Patriots dominated the Tigers to the tune of a 25-7, 25-14 victory.
Maggie Dillon posted team highs in aces with nine, and shared team lead of three kills with Laila Waddell. Meredith Dirksen chipped in seven aces and a block, and Bella Denton contributed two kills.
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